No Chinese Drywall Link in Deaths, CDC Says ~

No Chinese Drywall Link in Deaths, CDC Says ~

No Chinese Drywall Link in Deaths,
CDC Says ~

The US Government's Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has investigated 11 deaths of individuals exposed to
Chinese-made drywall in their homes, and reports that all the
deaths were the result of other causes. The
CDC summary report, Summary of State Health Department
Reviews of Deaths Reported to and Investigated by the Consumer
Product Safety Commission Related to Exposure to Imported
Drywall, is posted on the website of the Consumer Products
Safety Commission.
In the judgments of the medical authorities who reviewed
these cases, said the CDC, exposure to imported drywall was not
believed to be a contributing factor to these 11 deaths. In
every case, death was clearly the result of other factors,
which the report spelled out. For example, in the five cases
studied in Louisiana, All five decedents had multiple
long-term, severe, preexisting chronic health conditions before
their deaths. Four of the persons had heart disease in addition
to such other severe illnesses as cancer, diabetes, and
systemic lupus erythematosus; the fifth person had metastatic
cancer and vascular-related diseases. The conclusion of the
LDDHS review of medical records and other relevant information
is that imported drywall was not a contributing factor in the
deaths of these persons.
However, this does not get Chinese drywall off the hook for
other, less serious, symptomatic complaints, reports the New
Orleans Times-Picayune
(
No link between deaths, Chinese drywall, CDC says, by
Associated Press). CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson told reporters
that hundreds, if not thousands of residents had reported
symptoms such as nosebleed or respiratory irritation to the
agency.
With the drywall's corrosive effects on metal seen as its
only significant issue, investors in the Newport News,
Virginia, area have been moving in to buy up contaminated homes
at lowball prices, remediating the homes and offering them for
sale, reports the Virginian-Pilot
(
More homes with Chinese drywall purchased by investors, by
Josh Brown). One investor bought a Chinese drywall condo for
$71,000 that its previous owner had paid $239,200 for, the
paper reports. The investor, Matt Saunders of Simple Real
Estate Solutions Inc., almost decided to replace the drywall
but leave the existing wiring in place, he told the paper,
because his electrician had told him that the wiring was still
sound. However, Saunders reconsidered and decided to replace
all the wiring anyway. Saunders told the paper, It's 100
percent fine. But the question is when a new buyer comes in,
they're not going to be confident in the house.